So I put a quart baggie feeder on the package when I installed them Monday morning. When I inspected today (morning of the 4th day) it seems like it is mostly still all there. Given what I have read other places of bees going through a quart in 2 days this has me curious. Does this mean I have a decent enough flow going on right now that they are ignoring it? Are there other reasons they may not be taking it in very fast? I’d be interested to hear your thoughts.

@adagna Is the weather warm, and are they bringing back loads of pollen? Are the frames full of nectar or capped honey?
If so the flow should be OK.
Here in the UK we have had dreadful weather again - surprise, surprise, today and yesterday were warm here and the bees are out and about, but we have had several weeks of crud weather and the bees have used up their stores - normally they would have been able to get out to forage and the flow should be on but the weather is preventing continuous forage and storage and what they have got was used in expanding the brood, nothing has been stored very long. My hive has doubled in the last month but they have gone through all their food

Does this mean I have a decent enough flow going on right now that they are ignoring it? Are there other reasons they may not be taking it in very fast? I’d be interested to hear your thoughts.

It may be the nectar flow - I think you have had quite a bit of rain from El Nino this year, and that makes a huge difference.

Other thoughts… Is your baggie on top of the inner cover? If so, I might try putting some lemongrass essential oil on one end of a Q-tip and rest the oil end of the Q-tip on the baggie. Sometimes they don’t investigate upwards that much, if they are happy with their current space. Sugar doesn’t smell of much, so the lemongrass oil gives them a bit more of a clue. The Q-tip keeps it contained, so that the wax and the whole hive doesn’t “stink” of it!

I just released her this morning from the cage. I’ll check them again in a couple of days to see if I am getting eggs

Remember that she can’t lay until the cells are deep enough, so don’t start worrying too soon. Most packages in the US come with a “laying queen” (means she has been tested in a hive after mating), did yours?

It is on top of the inner cover, there seem to be enough bees on it that they should have made all the others aware that it is there. There are usually a dozen or two bees on top of it when I have cracked the roof to check on them. But it is possible I suppose that most of them are not aware. I’ll try to grab some lemongrass oil to be on the safe side.

Dawn_SD:

Most packages in the US come with a “laying queen” (means she has been tested in a hive after mating), did yours?

Truthfully I am not exactly sure, I believe they should be, I ordered them so long ago it’s all a blur now. Given that the seller lives here and in Missouri and brings his queens in from Missouri because of the Africanized bee issue my guess is that she was mated in Missouri.

It is on top of the inner cover, there seem to be enough bees on it that they should have made all the others aware that it is there. There are usually a dozen or two bees on top of it

Well, it sounds like either they have nowhere to put it (not enough comb yet), or there is enough nectar. I wouldn’t worry, just keep checking. When it gets hotter and drier, they may relish it if the nectar flow has dried up.

adagna:

Truthfully I am not exactly sure, I believe they should be, I ordered them so long ago it’s all a blur now

The reason for my question was that there is no point in you tearing your hive apart looking for eggs if you might have a recently mated or even virgin queen. Rusty Burlew has quite a nice article with some numbers here:Honey Bee Suite – 19 Apr 16

A first-year beekeeper e-mailed to say he was excited to see a new virgin queen in the act of emerging from her cell. But that was three whole days ago and still no eggs! He wanted to know if he should should replace her. My answer? Holy guacam [...]

Just didn’t want you to order another queen, when all you needed to do was wait another week.

@adagna What dawn says here is very very important.
If you feed when they don’t need it they will store the syrup in the comb as it’s drawn, your queen will have no place to lay and they are set up for swarming. Nucs DO swarm and the main reason is overfeeding.

Probably a good nectar flow right now. Sugar syrup to bees is like McDonalds is to us; you can live on it, but that’s about it. Natural forage is like a 5 star restaurant: Where would you rather eat? lol

If you think you want to entice them to take syrup, I add a cap-full of Honey B Healthy to a couple of gallons of syrup regardless of what the directions say.

Details" This feeding stimulant contains 100% pure essential oils and is used in spring and winter to stimulate the immune system. Prevents mold and fungus in sugar syrups, calms bees when used as a spray, allows direct queen release when sprayed on...

A related question for you as a somewhat local & experienced beekeeper, RHC - I’m in Montgomery Co PA & have had my bees hived since 4/8. If you recall it was windy & cold, then snow on 4/9. Past two weeks have been gorgeous & sunny, & lots of trees in bloom. When I checked my hive 2 days ago to gently straighten comb that was beginning to cross, it appeared to be mostly if not all filled with nectar/syrup…I saw that while all but 2 frames had comb, even the largest section was barely touching the bottom & one side, so I did not lift any frames up - I carefully slid them apart to try to see evidence of brood. Didn’t see any, but not the best view.

My teacher’s adamant instructions are to feed “until both deeps are fully drawn out”. Given that the first & so far only deep had about 60-70% comb drawn, I imagine another good three weeks to a month of feeding would have to ensue before the second box gets drawn out. Seems that nectar flow is good right now in our general area…seeing pollen-laden foragers & all.

What’s your opinion of feeding this far into the season? Or is that always necessary with a new package?

The trouble with bees is they are hoarders…it works for us but not for the bees.
If you give them syrup they will store it if they can so what happens is that as soon as new comb is drawn they fill it with the syrup you are giving them. They need a big workforce to draw all the combs but they haven’t the means to make one because the queen’s laying space is full of syrup.
The way round that is to feed in dribs and drabs when there is no forage ( a litre or two, take a break for a few days then repeat) and to not feed when the bees can collect the nectar themselves. Leaving it up to them can make the hive grow slower than you might like but at least they will go at their own pace, grow to a decent healthy size to over winter and give you some honey next year.

I just hived 4 small after swarms: Two of them are 10 days old now the other two I found today. I just checked them and they have plenty of new drawn comb, stored nectar and eggs. I didn’t feed them at all.
For those wondering, after swarms are swarms issued after the main, usually larger swarm has left the hive. These swarms usually contain a virgin queen.